Inmate Death of Kern Valley State Prison Under Investigation as a Homicide

December 27, 2011

Delano – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today that Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) investigators are working with the Kern County Coroner and District Attorney’s Office to investigate the Christmas Day death of an inmate, which has been classified as a homicide.

On December 25, 2011 at approximately 3:05 a.m. staff found inmate Scott McInnis dead in his cell, the apparent victim of a beating by his cellmate, Steven Lovely, who is considered the suspect in the case. After removing Lovely from the cell, staff attempted life-saving measures on McInnis but were unsuccessful and he was declared dead at 4:56 a.m.

The incident occurred in Facility A, Housing Unit #6 and the cell was secured and processed as a crime scene.

McInnis was a multiple term inmate serving a forty five (45) year sentence from Los Angeles County for three counts of robbery in the 2nd degree. He had been housed at KVSP since January 17, 2008.

Steven Lovely is a 26-year-old inmate serving a 2 year 8 month sentence from Los Angeles County for disregard for safety. He has been housed at KVSP since May, 7, 2010 and was scheduled for release on January 18, 2012.